Any questions about whether Lincoln Academy would bounce back this season after several seniors graduated – including 1,000 point scorer Gabe Hagar – were answered in a 52-44 win over Mt. Ararat that opened the preseason schedule on Monday, Nov. 25 in Topsham. The Eagles featured a quick, feisty defense that smothered and exhausted Mt. Ararat, especially in the second half while a variety of Lincoln Academy athletes aggressively attacked the basket to draw fouls. The Eagles outscored Mt. Ararat 18-7 in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.
After trailing 22-18 at halftime, the Eagles found their offense, led by Chase Coffin who scored all nine of his points in the second half, and Aidan Herring who tallied six of his nine points towards the end of the match. A.J. Giberson scored all five of his points in the game during the Eagles’ second half surge, including a pair of key free throws after being fouled as the third quarter expired, which closed the Mt. Ararat lead to just 37-34 and helped shift the momentum.
It was a physical game from the opening whistle that appeared to wear down Mt. Ararat. E.J. Hunt, Drew Hunt and Terry Welle attacked the basket with reckless abandon to draw fouls, and occasionally had a charging foul called on themselves after bowling over Mt. Ararat defenders throughout the match.
Perhaps lacking in star power like last season’s squad, the Eagles made up for it with a deep bench of very good players with a variety of shapes and abilities. Big and tall forwards Welle, Tyson Ball and Otto Schoenthal were a force under the basket, and a wide variety of quick and tenacious Eagles athletes that frequently subbed in and out hounded the Mt. Ararat offense. The fierce competition for playing time on Eagles head coach Ryan Ball’s varsity team is sure to inspire extra hustle, and that was on display as the hungry Eagles simply out-worked, out-hustled and out-lasted the fatigued Mt. Ararat squad to seize the win down the stretch.
Herring and Coffin led the Eagles with nine points apiece. Also scoring for Lincoln Academy were Welle with eight points, Drew Hunt seven, Schoenthal six, Giberson five, E.J. Hunt and Chase Ober three each, and Ball with two.
